How To Get Good Sleep with a Writer's Brain

Are you a writer and find it hard to sleep at night, lying in bed, mind racing with writing thoughts? Well, I’ve been there and done that. So today I’m here to give you some tips and advice on good sleep hygiene to promote good sleep. We’ll cover things from calming the writer’s mind to routines to have in place to insure the z’s begin rolling. Ready? Read on!

#1 Journal / Brainstorm Before Bed

There are some times when brainstorming can make your mind race more, so I recommend doing the brainstorming or brain dumping at least an hour before bed so that your mind can chill out afterwards. Journaling is something I do right before meditating so that I can put out all the negative things onto paper and out of mind mind. But everyone does work differently, so try out what works for you and what doesn’t.

#2 Have a Night Routine

Night routines can be fun and exciting. They can contain things from self-care, skin-care, reading, preparing tomorrow’s breakfast, setting out clothes for tomorrow, loading the dishwasher, etc. Whatever it is that helps you prepare for the next day and relax into sleep is what should be on your night routine.

#3 Go to Bed at the Same Time Each Night

This is a great sleep hygiene habit, once you’re in the habit of doing this it’s actually going to be easier for you to fall asleep every night because your body is used to this. It will help reset your inner sleep clock.

#5 Take Melatonin

Ah, melatonin. It is a naturally occurring hormone that promotes sleep in our bodies. Some of us don’t have enough so taking this hormone before bed time can cause us to feel sleepier than usual. I take it every single night because I suffer from insomnia. I notice a big difference if I don’t take it and I don’t like doing that because I’ll be tossing and turning most of the night.

#6 Read Something Boring

Exciting fiction is sometimes okay. Sometimes I will read a book I’m enjoying but it is a much slower pace so I’m not staying up to find out what happens or wondering what is going to happen as I lie in bed. If even that doesn’t work for you, try to find something boring to read. This can be things from old historical text (unless that is what is exciting to you), required reading for school, etc.

#7 Keep Screens Away

The blue light from device’s screens have been known to disrupt sleeping patterns and keep one awake. About an hour or so before bed retire from screen time. Try to get your boring read from actual paper instead of from the phone. Take out the TV from your bedroom or just cut it off all together. Put the laptop away from the bed and on your desk or move your office out of your bedroom (a dilemma I’m still trying to figure out how to do).

#8 Get Up at the Same Time Every Morning

I try my hardest to wake up at 5am. My morning routine then begins for about an hour and my writing routine begins at 6am going till 9am. I’m still working out the details to create the perfect writing routine for me. Like the night rule, it is good to start everyday at the same time. Get a free morning routine printable for writers here. Read about the routines of writers here.

#9 Think About Something Else

Distracting your thoughts simply by telling them where to go can be a powerful tool. If this is hard for you, simply close your eyes and take a deep breathe, even saying what you want to think about out loud might help. This can even be helpful during the day when you need your mind to only focus on one thing at a time, since multi-tasking for deep and important things isn’t actually productive but the opposite. To read on mind distraction techniques, click here.

#10 Diffuse Essential Oils

Scent is a good way to relax into sweet dreams. I personally love using lavender, German chamomile and a few others. This is also a great thing to do when you’re writing so that a certain scent can help trigger inspiration. I like using clove and cinnamon for these as I love the spice scent and they give a perk of energy.